The Turkish army uses unconventional explosives and chemical weapons in the guerrilla-held Medya Defense Zones in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq). During its ongoing invasion campaign, the invading army is thereby committing war crimes according to international standards.

A video recorded in May 2024 shows a huge explosion on the western front of the Zap region. The cloud of stones and dust released by the violence of the explosion with unconventional explosives rises hundreds of meters into the sky and the surrounding area.

The People's Defence Forces (HPG) has been reporting war crimes committed by Turkey through the use of banned bombs and chemical weapons in the Medya Defense Zones for several years. In October 2022, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) published a report on possible violations of the ban on chemical weapons by Turkey in attacks on Kurdish civilians and PKK fighters in northern Iraq and called in vain for an independent international investigation. Investigations into the war crimes documented in several cases by the guerrillas are being prevented by both Turkey and the Barzani clan ruling the Kurdistan region of Iraq. ANF has published many of these recordings since 2021.